what's this, a joke ?

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I do not agree that it is never never appropriate to list the name of an actor (actress) that is an animal. In the middle 1930s new techniques were invented by psychologists. Well, in Russia we found some studies applying operant conditioning performed by Pavlov's colleague Bekhterev. But it is foremost the late Fred Skinner at Harvard University, who developed it. To avoid technical issues I shall merely mention the following central princip: reward is much more efficacious than punishment.

I assume that "Mandala" has indeed been trained by an expert of operant conditioning. I do not think that such performance by a cow could be developed in any other way.

When Skinner was alive, he was under the most hateful attacks. In particular from pronents of psychoanalysis, who could never helop any patient. Skinner's students later succeeded in making mental patients speak, though they had no said a single word for 20 years.

At Harvard each student was responsible for two pigeon, whom he or she would teach many things.

At an academic dinner the behaviourist Skinner and the psychoanalyst Erich Fromm were sitting exactly opposite each other at the same time. Fromm eagerly propagated that human beings are no automata; they do not function according to Skinner's theories; and so on. Skinner wrote a little note: "Look at his left arm" and had it go round to everybody else than Fromm. And then he started to train Fromm by operant conditioning. He was successful: Fromm moved his arm up and down more and more speedily and with increasing distance betwen the up- and the down-position - until he his watch fell off his arm.

At another university another psycholist obstinately propagated that man is not an automaton. But they students at that university was competent in operant conditioning. The student agree in advance about the technique. Normally they would be looking quite disinterested. But whenever the teacher made a little step toward turning to the blackboard, they would suddenly look very attentive and interested. Gradually they would increase the movements to be reward. Before the hour ended, this teacher would stand with his back toward the audience, and talking over one of his shoulders - claiming that man does not function in accordance with Skinner's theories.

In view of what has been accomplished during the last 70 years, it seems logical to me to list the name of the cow in the dramtis personae.

Rivkaée Abravachy? The cow seems to have a name and a surname as well... Perhaps she even has a French citizenship.

Not a joke. It's a means of keeping an interactive resume, not necessarily for the animal itself, but for the animal trainer.

Idk, I'm sure you can't just take any cow and put it on set, they're quite tame animals actually, so it could be stressfull. So I guess a cow should be like at least trained or something, if you can even actually train a cow, idk, I feel stupid just writing this...